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Halford - Crucible review



Reviewer:
6.6

154 users:
7.79
Band: Halford
Album: Crucible
Release date: June 2002


01. Park Manor
02. Crucible
03. One Will
04. Betrayal
05. Handing Out Bullets
06. Hearts Of Darkness
07. Crystal
08. Heretic
09. Golgotha
10. Wrath Of God
11. Weaving Sorrow
12. Sun
13. Trail Of Tears
14. She [Limited edition bonus]
15. Fugitive [Limited edition bonus]
16. Rock The World Forever [Japanese bonus]
17. In The Morning [Japanese bonus]

Taking Heavy Metal into new extremes Halford shows up with his 2002 album 'Crucible' the successor to the major successful Resurrection. With elements of nu-metal, a nightmare of distorted sounds, furious drumming parts and from time to time antihormonic singing or his famous high-pitched screams, Halford takes us right before the gates of hell and beyond. This album is very far away from what we heard on 'Resurrection', yet you can hear some muscial type of allusions to Pantera maybe Slayer and Korn, or maybe nothing of those and let's say it's just another inventive or innovative type of heavy metal. Is it still heavy metal, or may it already be something else?

'Park Manor' the intro to 'Crucible' the title track already shows what is meant to be heard, we are taken into a very dark realm, a world of aggressions, violence and killing (ok only in our imaginations, but that can be worse than reality). The atmosphere provided is deadly and disgusting. This is mirrored in the artwork on 'Crucible', i.e. the booklet looks as if it was full of runes running orthogonal to the lyrics, embedded are pics of the band members in their most strangest looks, so you get the impression of looking at something unholy. The front and backside are brown like a piece of old leather and Halford himself is depicted twice (once more if you count the band pic with the dirt filter), once standing with a whip in his hand and bullet belts on his arms and waist. On the cd's backside you find him in a leather chair or rather a throne of strangely ornamented wood and leather, looking like some evil ruler or megalomaniacs seat, with Halord leaning on it in yet another leathersuit that even the bikers from hell will fear (or maybe I'm exaggerating on this point) Anyway, the music is taken to the first highlight 'One Will' about a battle between tow gods, very aggressive, but I have to admit the most aggressive tracks are the real highlights on 'Crucible'. 'Betrayal' is one good track movin to highlight number two 'Handing Out Bullets'. In the beginning of 'Heart Of Darkness' you might think about Korn playing a song here, but it's still Halford in one of the most harsh ways heavy metal has seen since it's birth. The following are less interesting until it comes to 'Wrath Of God' to me the most aggressive song Halford delivered here, is among the greatest of this album. The amazing the heights of this album the tiring the rest of the songs are. Up to 'Wrath Of God' I had given a 7 to this album, but the flaws dominate the remaining tracks and on the special edition these are two more, named 'She' and 'Fugitive'. The last five tracks force the rating down to a 6.6.

Concluding 'Crucible' is not a bad album at all, but it's full of contradictions, that do not only include highs and lows, but the thinking about will you like it or hate it more, is it beautiful or disgusting? Is it still heavy metal or is it some more extreme genre? What are the lyrics meant to say? Questions that are left open, as well as for yourself: Will you listen to Halford's Crucible or will you not?

Written by Pierre Tombale | 15.02.2004



Guest review by
Bas
Rating:
5.8
Let me throw down the facts on the table at the very beginning of this review. This album is mainly bullshit. It has some great moments, which are really great actually, but 70% of it is crap.

Anyway, despite having already said the most essential I'll dig a bit more into the details. At its core this is mainly a Heavy Metal album, yet?it's kind of strange and quite hard to describe. I think you'll have to listen for yourself if you want to know for sure. Here's my try at explaining what this album is exactly. Next to Heavy Metal which this album mainly is, there are also some traces of more "modern" genres. I might even go so far as to say it sometimes has a Melodic Death Metal sound to it. I mean, seriously, try listening to "Hearts Of Darkness" and telling me that the beginning doesn't sound almost exactly like Amon Amarth! Furthermore, there are a few minor metalcorish elements, some Thrash Metal and maybe even some tiny traces of grunge. You decide if this is something good or bad, for me personally, it isn't.

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published 29.12.2006 | Comments (1)


Comments

Comments: 6   Visited by: 39 users
22.06.2006 - 22:32
danzig111
Account deleted
I bought this album....and i must say......i really don't like it! The track, "Betrayal" is awesome, the screams mixed with the aggressive guitars.....quite intense! But as an album, i find it highly BORING!
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16.08.2006 - 17:58
Rating: 4
Bas
Retired Staff
hm, IMO a quite harsh review, i personally liked this album though,
and were genres are concerned, the only resemblance to numetal and korn that i can find is the high level of agression in the music, yet i still see it as heavymetal, nothing else

considering the contradictions you mentioned i aswell wouldnt give it more then 7.5 though
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BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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25.09.2009 - 13:50
Rating: 7
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
Have it as original...and it is not that bad, when you dont care about other Halford's works
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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25.10.2017 - 22:14
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Ellrohir on 25.09.2009 at 13:50

Have it as original...and it is not that bad, when you dont care about other Halford's works


what did you mean?
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Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
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I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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27.10.2017 - 19:55
Rating: 7
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
Why the hell you quote 8 years old comment?

I meant mainy Judas Priest ofc
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My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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27.10.2017 - 22:07
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Ellrohir on 27.10.2017 at 19:55

Why the hell you quote 8 years old comment?




Because he is K7 and will do anything to boost his post count
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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